


Beach Body

by EzraTheBlue



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hawaii, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Body Image, First Meetings, Genjo Sanzo/Son Goku (ancillary), Hawaii, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Insecurity, M/M, Meet-Cute, Multilingual Character, Saiyuki AU August 2018, Scars, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 08:52:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15991841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzraTheBlue/pseuds/EzraTheBlue
Summary: Hakkai is on assignment in Hawaii, but while he's confident at his job and content with his life, he's a little shy about his body, especially when it comes to unwinding at the beach. However, an encounter with a handsome surfer might just change how he looks at himself.





	Beach Body

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to quiet-or-die and lepetiterik for beta reading! I touched it last, so any remaining mistakes are my own.
> 
> This is another entry for Saiyuki AU August! No prompt this time, I had the idea on a whim and really couldn't resist, so I cranked it out! 
> 
> I've used a few Hawaiian pidgin terms throughout the story. Definitions for unusual or unfamiliar terms are at the end of the story.

**Beach Body**

Hakkai had never thought he'd love Hawaii. Moving didn't bother him - he'd moved around enough and traveled plenty - but if he were to pick a place to move to of his own accord, Hawaii was nowhere near the top of his list. He'd thought of the long, hot days and the crowded cities, the high cost of living and having to speak exclusively in English, and found himself rather disenchanted with the very notion of the “island paradise.” However, when his research team was scheduled to transfer to Honolulu in order to observe the migration patterns of a new crossbreed of spotted and spinner dolphins, Hakkai accepted it.

He quickly found that wearing shorts all the time, dodging through crowds of tourists to get to the marine lab (or to the docks), then home again (or wherever he needed to go), spending what seemed an obscene amount on groceries, and handling business in a tongue that was not entirely his own wasn't completely inconvenient. The perks completely outweighed the drawbacks. Hakkai ended up deeply enjoying the new cuisine, the beautiful vistas, and the days on an unimaginably turquoise sea. The best part of island life was taking breaks from his projects to unwind on the beach. It was a lovely sort of life. There was only one problem: he was just a little shy about his body, especially in what had become his favorite place.

“Again with the shirt?” Goku, the junior IT Tech, lifted his sunglasses a little as Hakkai arrived. He was already set up under a broad-leafed palm tree on the beach nearest their lab when Hakkai arrived with his cooler and towel. Hakkai, wearing his favored baggy khaki carpenter shorts and a long-sleeved chambray, unfolded his beach chair and set his bottle down. They'd gotten off an hour ago, which meant it was time to unwind. Island time, Hakkai joked to himself, as he thought of the silly old commercials advertising Hawaiian getaways, and found himself thinking, not for the first time, that the marketing had perhaps fallen short of the beautiful reality. The sun was just starting to touch the horizon, golden against an azure and violet sky, and Hakkai admired the view for a long moment. Then, he smoothed his shirt down his chest, ensuring it didn't ride up as he laid down. Goku chuckled a little. “I keep tellin' ya, your tan'll be uneven that way!”

“My, my, I applied sunscreen.” Hakkai chuckled a bit and eased himself down into his chair, adjusting the buttons on his wrist cuffs, as Goku flipped from his front to his back.

“Yeah, but you'll have that farmer's tan thing, with that line right where the sleeve stops and your hand starts.” Goku grinned at him. Hakkai smiled back, his good nature genuine for his junior. Goku had adapted well to island life, perhaps because he was younger and more adaptable, but he'd been easygoing even in Hokkaido. He'd quickly picked up speaking English like it was his native tongue, and could even help some of the other researchers when they struggled with the local slang. He'd also done well trying to encourage other members of the team to fit in, right down to finding neat local spots to eat or visit and telling Hakkai what _malasadas_ were (they happened to be delicious, cream-filled doughnuts). He also had gotten way into the island culture himself, right down to the tan culture, which was the one point of friction Hakkai felt with him. “Why you gotta be so shy? You swim in a shirt, you never change in front of anyone, I mean, nobody's gonna say anything about what you look like. It's okay, y'know?”

“Forgive me my modesty.” Hakkai tried to demur, opening a bottle of chilled jasmine tea. “I've never been one to flaunt my body.”

Goku stuck his tongue out at Hakkai. “It's not about flaunting.”

“No.” Hakkai settled back, curling his legs under him as Goku sat up and raised an eyebrow. Hakkai forced a cheerful smile now. “Er, I suppose I'd rather work on my beach body a bit first.”

“Puh-lease!” Goku rolled his eyes, grinning again. “It's not so hard to have a beach body! You have a body, you put it on the beach!”

Hakkai managed a laugh at that. “Yes, perhaps. And so, here I am, body on the beach.” He fidgeted with the hem of his tee. “I'm just more comfortable like this.”

Goku shrugged and settled back down on his elbows, spinning on his backside to face the sunset again. “Suit yourself. I'm sure you're fine, y'know? I can't make you tan evenly.”

“Mm.” Hakkai took a long drink of his tea, then sighed a little as he relaxed. This was one of the few places he'd traveled to where he was expected to take his clothes off on a regular basis (to swim, to enjoy the sunshine, or just to show off), but he was fine with defying that expectation for the sake of his own dignity. He worked long hours reviewing data when he wasn't spending weeks on a research boat collecting data, so he thought himself at least somewhat entitled to enjoy the peace of the island the same as anyone else, in whatsoever way he chose.

And yet, Goku interrupted his afternoon bliss again with another little snicker. "Hey, is that the kind of beach body you're looking for?" Hakkai inhaled deep to suck back a lecture, until he saw where Goku was pointing and exhaled all at once. Not ten meters away stood a statuesque example of a man, lean and hewed with muscle, with toned and shaped arms, defined thighs and abs, the curve of perfect glutes visible through his baggy surf shorts, golden-bronze skin and half-wet crimson hair, sleek and shimmery even tied in a ponytail behind his head as he held a surfboard against the sunset and waxed it clean.

"Oh," Hakkai said involuntarily, then forced his jaw shut so he wouldn't be caught gawking. Then, he turned a teasing grin to Goku. "Goodness, won't Sanzo be jealous."

Goku snorted. "Hey, just 'cause I've already picked my meal doesn't mean the rest of the menu doesn't look good." Goku glanced back around. "And man, does he look good. Not Sanzo good, but still really good." Hakkai would have agreed, except he was certain that would only give Goku a little more ammunition for his gentle jibes. "He looks way better than on TV, anyway." His phone chirped from his bag, and Goku spun around to grab it. “Ah, that's it for me. I gotta go get a shower before my wake-up Skype with Sanzo.”

“Ah, he's still in Helsinki, isn’t he?”

“Yup.” Goku scooped up his towel as he stood and dusted the sand off of his thighs. “Have you ever been?”

“Not yet, no, though I would love to, someday. I envy Sanzo being invited to study the Greenland shark.” Hakkai smiled ruefully. “Though perhaps I'd rather return to Japan first for a midpoint between the tropical temperatures here and the chill up north.”

“Is it that cold?” Goku made a face. “All I know is that dinnertime here is breakfast-time there, so if I'm gonna have my fried eggs and spam on rice while he has his poached eggs and herrings, I gotta get a move on now. See you in the lab tomorrow!” He jogged off for the boardwalk with his towel and empty bottle, still shedding sand in curtains as it shook out of his shorts, and Hakkai waited for him to jump onto his scooter before returning his attention to the handsome surfer.

He briefly wondered what Goku meant by him looking better “than on TV,” but he didn't have a chance to muse on it long before the gorgeous man caught him studying him. (Not staring, certainly not.) Luckily, the man just grinned, and Hakkai watched his mouth move:

_“Aue.”_ He whistled, then set his surfboard down and walked – no, swaggered – over to Hakkai, lean muscles gleaming with salt and seawater in the dying light, and Hakkai swallowed hard, tongue dry. The man set his hands on his hips as he stopped near Hakkai's patch of shade, then bent at the waist, teeth gleaming in a crooked crescent moon of a grin. This close, Hakkai could see two faint scars down his cheek, just enough of an imperfection to make his handsome face at all possible in an imperfect universe. Then, he spoke with a voice like a warm breeze off of the sea: “'Ey. What brings someone like you to a place like dis?”

His pidgin was pretty thick, but not so bad Hakkai couldn't understand and smile right back, albeit his own nerves demurring him. “Work.”

“Work?” The surfer straightened up and looked around, then laughed. “Ain't no work here, brudda. This beach time, 'ey? Nothin' but sunset-watchin' an' relaxin' here.” He bent back over, hair sliding over his shoulder, ember-bright eyes glimmering in the sunset light. “What you need is someone to relax wit', 'ey? You mind if I make myself a little spot right here an'–”

“Gojyo!” A more American voice shouted from nearby, and the surfer flinched, his cool facade breaking in an instant. “Come on, bro, I'm double-parked!”

The surfer, apparently Gojyo, blushed a little, then stood back and cupped a hand around his mouth to shout: “I'll be right there, just lemme get my board an' _da kine_ an'–”

“Don't tell me you left your turtle wax open and walked off to flirt with tourists!” Gojyo flinched again, and Hakkai smothered a laugh, but raised a hand to volunteer:

“I'm not a tourist, if it helps. I really am only here for work.” Hakkai sat forward, smoothing his hair back from his face as Gojyo forced a nervous grin.

“I believed you, man.” His accent was a lot less thick all of a sudden, and his smile was more friendly than flirtatious, too. “You with the big telescope, or the fish research spot?”

“Marine research.” Hakkai managed to smother another soft laugh at how casual he was. “I'm Dr. Cho Hakkai, with the Akkeshi Research Team.”

“Gojyo Sha, with, uh, a surfboard.” He grinned sheepishly. “Sorry I came on kinda strong, brudda, but-”

“All the tourist traps bring in the pidgin-speakers. I've noticed. It's charming, isn't it?” Hakkai rested his chin in his hand. “I admit to preferring sincerity.”

“Is that it? I can do that, too.” Gojyo knelt down. “I meant it when I said I'd like to watch a sunset with ya. 'Cept–”

“Come on, Gojyo!” The man at the car was shouting again, and Hakkai peered around the tree to see a similarly tall, good-looking man with sheared black hair waving and calling from the road. Gojyo groaned, and shouted again:

“Gimme a sec, Jien, seriously!” He turned back to Hakkai. “My brother's waiting on me, so I gotta pack my board and run. You come here much?”

“When I'm not at sea, every day.”

“Great!” Gojyo's face lit. “You at sea tomorrow? I'll come in early if you're gonna be here.”

“Come in – ah, you mean from the ocean?” Hakkai glanced to the surfboard on the rock where Gojyo had propped it. Even with the wax still drying on its nose, it looked very well-loved. Gojyo nodded.

“I love the water, but I love a good bottle of beer and some friendly conversation just as much.” He stood up, hands on his hips again. “See you for a little _pau hana_ tomorrow, yeah?”

Hakkai laughed to himself. He was glad Goku had taught him that one the last time he'd dragged him out to happy hour. “You bring the drinks. I'll trust you.”

Gojyo's crooked grin slipped naturally back into place. “Yeah, shoots. _Aloha_ , Hakkai!” With that, Gojyo went to gather up his board and search for where he left his wax canister, then bolted for the street while shouting and swearing at his brother, who laid on the horn just as Gojyo got to the door. Hakkai smiled wryly to himself, a little self-satisfied as how easily and naturally that had come to him.

It had been so long since he'd let himself be lured towards a handsome somebody-or-other, he'd been certain he wouldn't know what to say, and yet, Gojyo seemed to be so natural at it that it made it easy for him. He slid his hand up through his hair, feeling how warm his face was, but then, as if remembering why he had resisted the call for so long, he dragged his hand down his chest.

Perhaps, he thought for a second, he should never come back here again.

“No,” he told himself. “At least talk to him.”

There was no harm in looking, like Goku said, and talking was just one more inch further. An additional sense, he thought with a dry laugh held behind his tongue. If nothing else, he was curious about him, what someone like him saw in someone like, well, Hakkai.

He at least knew one good question to ask. 

* * *

 

"You're not kidding?" Hakkai rubbed the back of his head as if he could force his boggled mind right, as his head spun from taking in what Goku had said. He gripped his beach bag tight, and Goku guffawed and slapped his knee.

"You mean you haven't seen him out there on the waves? He's on the beach here like every day!" Goku pointed across the blue to where, even in that precise moment, Gojyo crested a wave on his surfboard and glided across the wake as easily as if it were freshly-waxed tile. Hakkai was rapt as Gojyo, his hair in a sloppy bun, bare chest damp and gleaming with sea water, eyes on the skyline like a hawk after a mouse, rode the wave on that same board he'd been nursing the night before. Hakkai had seen surfing before, but never someone who blended his body with the board and wake so naturally. Goku's enthusiasm said it all and more: "He's not just a pro! He's ranked number 4 by the World Surf League! He's won six major events in the last three years, and placed in every competition he's been in for the past five! They're even saying he might be on track for the Tour Champion this year!” Goku bounced on his heels, unable to contain his enthusiasm as he rambled on, “He took first in a meet in Java last month, I had to get up at like three A.M. to watch but I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Goku bounced on his heels. "Isn't he somethin'? Lookit him!" He pointed out towards the water as Gojyo slid out of the wake and into the water, plunging under for a second then coming up gasping and grinning.

"He is," was all Hakkai could say, still struck dumb.

A professional surfboarder. Gojyo was a professional surfboarder. No wonder he was so fit and limber. No wonder Goku knew what he looked like on TV.

"I got his autograph, too!" Goku nudged Hakkai's ribs with his elbow. "I don't wanna interrupt him while he's practicing, but he was just kinda chillin' with the waves and brushing his hair, and he asked me for a bottle of water, and I had a spare and – I'm not even gonna lie – I got super excited he talked to me! I had to get his autograph!" Goku took his planner out of his bag and showed Hakkai a messy scrawl of signature. Hakkai nodded, not certain at all what else to say. Luckily, Goku was nothing if not adept at breaking silence. "But he's really chill! He laughed at me a little for makin' a fuss over him." Goku snickered, but drew his fists in front of him as if unable to wall back his excitement. "I try not to freak when I see him, but he's so cool in real life."

“Do you think?” Hakkai thought of how easily he flustered, especially when his brother was scolding him. Then, Gojyo's eyes locked onto his, and his mouth curved into a wicked smile. He let his feet touch ground and sauntered for the shore, sliding through the water as smooth as a sharp blade through silk, but he came up short as he was accosted on his way up the shore by a crowd of girls in bikinis. He laughed and talked to them for a moment, natural and casual as could be. Hakkai could see from the way his mouth moved that he was using the same cant and demeanor he'd put on for him the night before. However, Gojyo's eyes flashed over to him again, and Hakkai could see him disengage and step back naturally, easily, and circle around them with the same natural swagger to approach Hakkai. He didn't even break stride to pick up a cooler from where it was set in the sand, then hailed him with a wave.

“ _Aloha_ , babe.” Gojyo set one hand on his hip and canted his head to let his hair slide over his face. Goku started a little, then gaped at Hakkai. Hakkai, to his credit, maintained his composure.

“It's nice to see you. I saw you out on the waves; I had no idea how good you were.”

“No?” Gojyo laughed aloud, perplexed, and ran his fingers back through his hair, but then he jerked his head towards Goku. “Little brudda here forget to clue you in?”

Goku yelped and waved his hands. “I told him! Just now!”

“I don't watch all that much television or sports, I admit.” Hakkai smiled sheepishly and shrugged, hands up. “I don't know terribly much about surfing, but perhaps you'd be willing to give me a primer?”

Goku gaped with awe as Gojyo looped an arm around Hakkai's shoulder. “I'll tell you everything you wanna know. What say we find a little patch of shade and settle on in?”

“That sounds delightful.” Hakkai managed a mote of satisfaction at Goku's stunned stare, pleased to at least have surprised him right back, but the nerves when he fell in step beside Gojyo made his knees quake just a little.

A professional athlete. Someone who could obviously get the attention of anyone he wanted, and yet he was only barely looking at the pretty girls waving and calling his name as they passed by.

Gojyo found an empty spot back from the crashing waves and set the cooler down, and Hakkai set down his beach blanket and bag, and settled in, side by side with Gojyo, the pair of them looking out towards the water. Gojyo sighed as he sprawled out and made a little groove in the sand for his cooler, but as Hakkai sat beside him, legs folded, Gojyo motioned to his chest. “You usually keep your shirt on at the beach? You gotta be warm in your sleeves there.”

Hakkai felt his nerves spike through his chest as if he'd laid back on a bed of needles. “Ah ... I prefer not to get too much sun. I'm somewhat fair, and ... I – er, I'm just more comfortable this way.”

“Oh?” Gojyo swiped Hakkai with a glance, taking him in top to bottom, as Hakkai subconsciously smoothed his shirt down over his chest and stomach. Then, he shrugged. “Whatever makes you happy, babe.” Hakkai tried not to look too relieved as Gojyo turned his attention to cracking the cooler open.

Hakkai felt like he needed the drink if only to celebrate punting that particular conversation.

The bottles weren't marked, but Gojyo had an unlabeled six pack and a bottle opener, and he opened the first bottle and held it up to Hakkai. “One of my brother's buddies is a home brewer. I asked her for something everyone would like, and she said this's kinda sweet and not too hoppy. If you don't like it, I can go get whatever you like.”

“I'll try it, thank you.” Hakkai accepted the bottle and gave it a sniff, like a vintner, but all he could really tell was that it smelled a little sweet and fizzy, and just a little bitter. Sharp. Hakkai thought he'd like it, so he gave it a try. Like Gojyo had promised, a little sweet, a little bitter. “I see you have good taste in beer.” He raised his bottle just as Gojyo cracked one open for himself. “To, er, _pau hana_?”

“To us.” Gojyo tapped the neck of his bottle against Hakkai's, then took a long, slow drink, sighing it out as he swallowed. “Damn, gonna have to tell Yaone she did me right. What d'you think?”

“It's nice.” Hakkai took another little sip as Gojyo sank down, folding those long legs carefully, and shook the last of the salt out of his hair by pulling it loose from its ponytail, letting those crimson locks glitter on his shoulders and halfway down his back. Hakkai had once adored that shade of red, but found himself glancing away after a moment spent admiring it. “It's kind of you to consider my tastes when I let you surprise me.”

Gojyo raised an eyebrow, amused but perplexed, then chuckled as he dug a little groove in the sand for his bottle. “Hey, I try to be considerate.”

“I'm merely appreciating it, though perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.” Hakkai fidgeted, running his finger around the neck of the bottle. “Ever since I arrived, everyone I've interacted with has been kind to me.”

“Hawaiians, we got that _aloha_ spirit. We never meet a stranger.” Gojyo grinned, though Hakkai didn't miss the gleam of mischief in his gaze. “You’re Japanese, right?”

“Is it that obvious?”

To Hakkai's surprise, Gojyo answered in smooth Japanese: _“No, but I have an eye for that sort of thing.”_ He winked, then switched right back to accented English. “I was raised in Japan, mostly.”

“Ah!” Hakkai tried not to look too shocked out of politeness. “Then, are you Japanese?”

“Half, yeah.” Gojyo tilted a hand indicatively. “I grew up in Japan with my mom and came to see my dad here every summer. I like Osaka just fine, but there was something magical about Hawaii, so I got my dual citizenship and got comfy here. I picked up surfing when I was a kid, and here I am now, living the dream.”  He grinned bashfully. “I might'a been raised Japanese, but ever since I was little, the only place I've felt at home is the water.”

“Ever since you were young? No wonder you've been able to go professional.” Hakkai studied him again, his toned body, the image of the sculpted athlete – but for that one little imperfection. “I suppose those old scars are a surfing injury?”

Gojyo's eyes went wide for a second, touching his cheek over the scars as if he'd forgotten they were there. “Yeah. Uh, crashed into a dock. I got way better after that, you know?” He quickly grinned again, either self-deprecating or self-amused, then extended an open palm to Hakkai. “How about you? You're here with the marine lab, you said, is this your first time in Hawaii?”

“I've been here nearly two months, but yes.” Hakkai found his whole body naturally turning towards Gojyo. “A sister lab in Hokkaido, specializing in cold water marine life, sent me and a team to study the migration of a new kind of dolphin that's been discovered. Since it's moving back and forth on a cold current that's traveling to Hokkaido, it's something of our specialty, and we have to see how this new crossbreed interacts with the ecosystem.”

Gojyo raised both eyebrows and whistled. “Man, that's way over my head. It sounds way cool, but that's some wild stuff. So, like, a new animal coming in ...”

“It could affect every factor in the food chain.” Hakkai tried to simplify it for the layman. “Everything it eats, eats something else, and something may be large enough to eat it. How will those populations be affected by the change? How will that affect the balance of oxygen in the water, the bacterial population, et cetera, those are all questions that must be answered.” Gojyo nodded, clearly understanding, and Hakkai eagerly went on. “There's also the question of why this breed came about when it did, and how sustainable it is ...”

“Well, ain't that just a matter of whatever it is starting it up keeping it up? Like, it's a crossbreed, so as long as whatever made it keeps hooking up, y'know ...” Gojyo waggled an eyebrow and slid his fingers down Hakkai's spine. Hakkai laughed under his breath.

“That, of course, but also the question of if they can breed between themselves, since some crossbreeds are sterile, and then the question of if they'll be able to establish themselves given their new adaptations in order to survive long term.”

“Yeah?” Gojyo nodded a few times. “I had no idea. I never think about that sorta stuff. I think of marine biologists, I just think, like, aquariums and dolphin shows and stuff?” He motioned with his arm and hand to mimic a dolphin jumping through a ring, and Hakkai chuckled weakly, but Gojyo shook his head. “'Cept, it's more important than that, right? It all kinda comes back to keeping the ocean and everything in it healthy.”

That was surprisingly perceptive, and Hakkai felt oddly pleased that Gojyo had figured that out. “Studying animal behavior is one thing, but you're right. Our job is to keep the water healthy. The ocean is life, after all.” Hakkai glanced out to the water. “It covers most of the planet, and most forms of life are dependent on water and rain. Healthy ocean means healthy world and healthy people.”

“Yeah.” Gojyo mulled it over, tipping his head left and right, then nodded and bowed his head to Hakkai. “Guess I should thank you for taking good care of me.”

Hakkai laughed aloud now and bowed back. “It's been my pleasure.” He found himself smiling at Gojyo, found his hand creeping a little closer to where Gojyo's palm rested against the blanket, and leaned in to look into Gojyo's face. “You seem rather intimate with the ocean, as well. Tell me, how did you end up surfing professionally?”

Gojyo chuckled and began to tell him about his teenage competitions and getting nominated for local meets, but he asked about Hakkai's interest in marine biology right back, the pair of them joking and laughing with one another. They talked about anything and everything that came up and jibed naturally, easily, between sips of beer and pauses to open fresh bottles. Hakkai was certain he'd never found someone so easy to talk to, someone who matched his pace. Gojyo's easygoing attitude was terribly welcome.

Hakkai thought of the girls Gojyo talked to, how he talked just as naturally and easily to them. He couldn't knock it from his mind, really. As the sun began to go down, though, it was his hand over Gojyo's as they talked, and Gojyo's face lit with curiosity and eyes only for him as he talked about his last assignment in Singapore.

“... so the coral's actually growing on the old pirate wrecks?” He grinned with childlike fascination, and Hakkai couldn't help but feel that curiosity like his own. He didn't know if he'd been nearly as excited about it when he'd been in the scuba suit, head already aching a little from the pressure and painstakingly documenting the microscopic coral among the anemones. However, seeing it from Gojyo's point of view, it actually was cool. “There's gonna be coral reefs shaped like pirate ships, man! That's just wild.”

“It was, really. It's very slow growth, but two centuries at rest have given life a chance to take root. It's a relief, given the reef death off of Australia. However, there's some concern about the increased pollution coming from the industrial boom in China ...”

“Hey, Gojyo!” Hakkai and Gojyo both started, because neither of them had realized that the sun was nearly gone, but Hakkai glanced over Gojyo's shoulder and Gojyo turned around to see the same dark-haired man who'd picked Gojyo up last night waiting on the boardwalk. Gojyo rolled his eyes, but waved to him.

“Hey, bro!” Gojyo twisted back around to Hakkai as he crossed the beach towards them. “That's my brother, Jien. Here to cut me off, I guess.” Gojyo jerked his head indicatively towards the empty bottles next to them. “I'm supposed to, uh, watch myself during the season.” He rolled his eyes again. “I'm allowed one cigarette a day and I'm supposed to drink 'sparingly,' so of course my manager there's gonna babysit me. He even micromanages what I eat before a competition, right down to weighing out chicken by the gram.”

“Oh.” Hakkai wanted to laugh a little at the thought of Gojyo needing to be handled, but he recognized the importance of keeping Gojyo in good shape. “I suppose it's much like managing a healthy ocean–”

“Hey!” Jien stopped near their blanket, then crouched down and pointed. “Tell me he only had three of those, Mister Specs.”

Hakkai realized Jien was talking to him, and stifled a smile. “He did, he wanted me to have my fair share. He said your friend provided the beverages, kindly pass on my compliments – I believe the word is _mahalo_?”

Jien raised his eyebrows, then grinned broadly. “ _Rahja dat_ , bro.” He extended a hand. “Sha Jien, I'm that guy's brother.”

Jien's Hawaiian accent was stronger than Gojyo's natural cadence, but despite Gojyo's gripes, he seemed just as friendly as anyone else here. “This is Hakkai; we were just talking.”

“Talking?” Jien's eyes slid over to Gojyo, and he swatted a little sand at him. “'Ey, brudda, you gonna be nice to this one?”

Gojyo scoffed. “I'm nice to everyone!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I kid ya.” Jien winked at Hakkai. “He don't do the beach blanket treatment for just anyone. I'm lucky if I get half his girlfriends' names-”

“Hey, quit that!” Gojyo groaned and sat all the way up. “Is it goddamn bedtime already?”

“You got a competition in three days and you're beach-bumming.” Jien crossed his arms and stood up, and Gojyo muttered something in Japanese that Hakkai thought sounded like “ _cock-blocker._ ” “Don't you go grumbling at me, come on. Your trainer's coming in at sunup tomorrow, so you gotta get something in your stomach and get some rest.”

“Fine, fine.” Gojyo turned to Hakkai and switched right back to Japanese: _“I know it's 'cause he loves me, but I fucking hate being handled.”_

“No Japanese!” Jien crossed his arms and stood up. “If you're gonna talk smack about me, say it in a language I can speak, brudda.”

Gojyo huffed and rose to a stand, then turned and offered Hakkai a hand. Hakkai accepted, and let Gojyo help him to a stand, even as Gojyo was muttering under his breath, “Yeah, yeah, fine. Ruin my date, drag me home for dinner and bed like I'm twelve, but as long as I win, _ainokea,_ yeah?”

“You gonna give me the business, you gonna be out of business.” Jien stood back as Gojyo turned to Hakkai again.

“He's right, I do kinda gotta clamp down before this next meet.” He laid a hand over Hakkai's and squeezed it. “But hey, you think you'll be around in a few days? If I win, there's gonna be a lu'au at my place, I'd love to show you how we really do it on the islands. None of that touristy shit, you'll love it, we gonna have _da grindz_ so good you gonna swear you _broke da mout_.” Gojyo's face lit again with excitement as he talked, but from the way he squeezed Hakkai's hand a little tighter, Hakkai wondered if maybe it wasn't just anticipation for the big party.

“I'd be glad to. Would you mind trading numbers with me?” Hakkai took out his cellphone and Gojyo went for his, and they swapped so they could each enter their information in the others' contacts. Hakkai typed his full name in and all of his contact numbers, but when Gojyo gave his phone back, he noticed that Gojyo had entered his own name in as “Number One Surfboy Sex God.” Hakkai discreetly corrected it as Gojyo grinned with glee at Hakkai's entry. “You'll give me the details, won't you? You can even text me a photograph of your medal once you're back on the network.”

Jien snickered. “He's confident in you, huh?”

“I like it. At least someone is.” Gojyo elbowed Jien lightly, then turned a little away from Hakkai. “But yeah, I'll show you. I'll see you once I'm back stateside, yeah?” He winked over his shoulder, then let Jien lead him off. Hakkai watched him go, feeling somehow bereft already.

Being able to talk to Gojyo, knowing Gojyo was listening, he was certain those sort of things might never happen to him. Or maybe that he wouldn't want it. He certainly wanted to know Gojyo more, already almost wanted to slip into his skin.

He couldn't help himself. “Gojyo!” He cupped a hand over his mouth to call after him, and Gojyo spun about again. Hakkai smiled, taking a step forward already. “I'll watch the competition with Goku! I can't wait to see you! Promise me you'll do your best!”

Gojyo beamed and threw him a _shaka:_ fingers closed over his palm, thumb and pinky out. Hakkai managed only a little wave back, his chest aching.

He just may have been in trouble, because Gojyo was equal parts dashing rogue and kid-like charmer, but Hakkai was still himself.

* * *

“I still can't believe you actually went on a date with Sha Gojyo!” Goku was speaking Japanese because Sanzo could understand it over the Skype camera on Goku's computer. The high-speed internet at the marine center was better than anywhere else on the island, after all, and for Goku, any time was a good time to check in with their senior and his boyfriend. Hakkai, however, tended to disagree, and was forced to swallow his embarrassment as Sanzo, sitting at his kitchen table in Helsinki with coffee and a bowl of porridge and jam on one side and a binder of documents open on the other, raised an eyebrow.

“That surfer Goku keeps raving about?”

“ _That_ Sha Gojyo!” Goku crowed, swinging his legs off the end of the table he was perched on and knocking the empty Chinese takeout box off of his desk. Hakkai heaved a sigh and tried to pretend he was focusing on his Excel spreadsheet of water temperature samples taken from their last voyage along the current and not at all peeking at the livestream of the surf competition in Malaysia docked in the corner of his screen.

“Goodness, Goku, should we really be talking about such things in the workplace?”

“He shouldn't,” Sanzo agreed gruffly, reaching for his coffee as he turned a page. “But it's still interesting. Are you certain it's wise to get involved with someone who's that high-profile?”

“We shared a few drinks and a conversation, and it's not as if he's a famous actor,” Hakkai tried to demur. “He's locally known, and by enthusiasts, but ...”

“Hakkai didn't even know who he was!” Goku jumped off the table and leaned into the camera. “Gojyo just came and flirted with him like he does all the beach girls but Hakkai totally went for it and –”

“Girls, is it?” Sanzo raised an eyebrow, and Hakkai avoided his gaze by focusing on the livestream completely. Gojyo was the next surfer up, and Hakkai could see him in his team shirt, branded with a logo shaped like a bull's head with lowered horns, waving to the audience, pumping his fist and amping them up. Hakkai searched the crowd for Jien, and saw him alongside a distinctly Hawaiian man with dark red hair in a combed ponytail wearing the same logo. Whatever Sanzo was saying behind him, he couldn't hear it, instead finding himself more interested in watching Gojyo on the screen. Gojyo turned towards the camera, and Hakkai saw him look right into the lens and grin like a thief on the run, and said, unheard in the uproar:

_“Hey, you.”_ As if he knew Hakkai was watching. Hakkai hoped upon hope that he believed he was. He thought of texting him to let him know, but he doubted Gojyo would have a chance to see it before swimming out, even if the roaming network could pick it up.

“Oh man, he's getting ready, Hakkai, make it big, make it big!” Goku leaned over and expanded the window.

“Hakkai, have you heard a word I've said?” Sanzo put his coffee cup down hard enough to make a _clunk_ on the table. Hakkai glanced over his shoulder.

“Forgive me, but I am trying to work here. How has your study been going?”

Sanzo's eyes narrowed to slits. “Don't bullshit me or try to change the subject. I merely wanted to remind you that you are on assignment, and not to get distracted from what you're supposed to be doing in Hawaii." Sanzo crossed his arms and sat back, looking all the world like a regal dictator despite the backdrop of a pastel kitchen in a rented flat. "That said, I'm not saying you can't date. After all, some famous international surfer surely has plenty in common with you. You could share travel stories, I'm sure." He leaned forward, and Hakkai felt his voice cut, even over thirteen time zones, like a diamond-tipped bevel carving through steel: "Why not start with your trip to Thailand?"

Hakkai shivered, but locked his eyes instead with the image of Gojyo on the screen, now riding the wave on that familiar board, followed by a helicopter providing the aerial views. Gojyo was one with the ocean, his every muscle keenly shifting his weight with the wake as he roared through the tunnel of water. Hakkai could hear the crowd screaming as Gojyo touched down, then paddled out towards the next wave. His body was as much his own as part of the water, and he clearly knew precisely what to do with himself. Everything, from his outstretched arms to the grips of his toes, showed his perfect control over who and what he was in this space.

"Hakkai?" Goku wasn't paying attention to Gojyo, but instead sounded fraught with worry. "Hey, what happened in Thailand?"

"I ..." Hakkai didn't want to answer, but he could feel Sanzo's gaze piercing like a laser. "I ... had surgery there. I've recovered well, but ..."

"He deserves to know," Sanzo muttered, sounding remotely contrite. "I have no intention of spelling it out, but you know."

"He knows what?" Goku spun around towards Sanzo's camera again as Sanzo picked up his coffee.

"It's Hakkai's place to explain to you, though I had thought he would have mentioned it by now."

"As if implying it weren't enough." Hakkai choked out a half-hearted laugh as Sanzo took up his coffee cup, so casual about everything as if he weren't shredding at Hakkai's guts like a vulture. Hakkai could barely focus on Gojyo swimming out to the wake yet again, tanned skin blending with the blue, his limber form sliding through the water so easily, so naturally, it was as if he were born to it. "You may be right, but that gives you no right to be unpleasant about it."

"You've known me long enough to know I prefer honesty to pleasantry." Sanzo turned his eyes from the camera. "Do what you like. However, I think heartbreak is a distraction, so you might as well get it out of the way sooner rather than later if you've got it coming."

Goku snorted at this. "Jeez, if I'd known you were gonna be such a wet blanket, I wouldn't'a called you right now. Don't you think Hakkai ought'a try to get out of his shell a little? I think it's neat that Gojyo likes him, and it's definitely not just 'cause Hakkai's good-looking."

"Hmph." Hakkai chanced a quick look over his shoulder at Sanzo on the screen, fingers tented, still scowling. "It's his decision. I'm merely providing advice as a superior and as someone who knows you, Hakkai."

Hakkai turned back around, watching the judges tally the score for Gojyo's performance. He'd done a little research on how competitive surfing was scored, but he hardly needed it to see that Gojyo had scored exceedingly well. He watched Gojyo celebrating with Jien and shaking his sponsor's hand with enthusiasm. He was thrilled like a little kid on Christmas, so utterly self-satisfied and gleeful. Hakkai wished he could echo it. “I won't do anything stupid,” he murmured, even as Gojyo turned to the camera, jumping up and down and shouting, holding his gold medal up to the camera. He could have sworn Gojyo was shouting his name through the uproar, but Hakkai could only hear the announcer reading off the scores of the others who had placed and watch on as Gojyo celebrated.

Goku was quietly scolding Sanzo behind him, and Sanzo was firing back, but Hakkai tried not to care. He wanted to feel as happy as Gojyo did right now. He wanted to share in that happiness, too. He just had no idea how all that happiness could fit into a single body.

Especially one like his.

* * *

Hakkai was woken by a text at dawn, and rolled right over to answer. He'd been ignoring the email Sanzo had sent him, apologizing (as best as a stubborn ass like Sanzo could apologize) for saying too much about his situation in front of Goku, but the text message was from Gojyo, and Hakkai very much wanted to read that.

_“Did u see me? I rocked the competition, nobody could touch me! I just kept thinking bout surfing that big wave right back to u ;)”_

Hakkai's face felt warm, and he rolled over and grabbed his glasses (only worrying a little that the plastic might melt on his cheeks) before typing a response:

_“Goku and I watched on the high-speed connection at our office. You were wonderful. I know little about surfing and even I could tell how skilled you were. I'm tremendously proud, not to mention impressed.”_

He would have rolled over and gone back to sleep, but his stomach was so full of butterflies it actually made him a little nauseous, and he worried that he would have made himself sick if he'd tried. Instead, he took a moment to check his emails (still ignoring Sanzo's apology), until Gojyo texted back:

_“You saw me, yeah? I knew you would wanna see me in action! I'm glad I did you right, I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I'd fucked up knowing you were out there watching.”_

Another message followed a second later:

_“The lu’au's gonna be tonight, can u make it? You're not on a boat right now r u?”_

Hakkai couldn't stop a bright smile, and dug his chin into his pillow as if to smother his own bashful smile. “He must really want to see me,” he tried to tell himself, and typed back:

_“No, we're on shore for at least a few more weeks before our next run. I'm absolutely free tonight. Please just tell me when and where you would like me, and the dress code. I'm eager to celebrate your victory with you. Should I bring wine?”_

Gojyo replied a second later:

_“It's either gonna be Jien's place or his friend Kougaiji's, I'll let you know as soon as I do! And no dress code, there's prob gonna be bros in grass skirts and shit, ainokea if you show up nekkid! You don't need to bring nothing, either, just come comfy and hungry! I gotta take care of some stuff today but I'll text you when I know the spot. Hope I didn't wake you, the time zone swap's got my head a little fucked and I just didn't want to wait.”_

Hakkai quickly typed back, _“Not at all. I'm glad you didn't keep either of us waiting. Please let me know where the party is when you do, I'm as eager to see you as I was to hear from you.”_

He shoved his phone back onto the bedside table, glad nobody else was around to see him blushing. (At least he thought he was; his face felt warm enough, though he usually thought of himself as being able to mask his stronger emotions.) He took his glasses off and rolled onto his back, blinking at the bamboo ceiling fan as he thought of seeing Gojyo again.

What Sanzo had said rang in his ears again. He felt cold again in a second, and put his pillow over his face to try and smother it out.

Sanzo may have been right, as little as Hakkai wanted to acknowledge it. If he were really in a mood to be honest with himself, he shouldn't have been so annoyed that Sanzo had blatantly discussed his history in front of Goku, without considering that Goku was not privy to his secrets. He should have trusted Goku with it, he knew Goku wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Still, there were days when he wasn't sure he could trust himself.

He reached past his glasses for the pack of patch medicine, peeled off the old patch still clinging to his forearm, and tucked the new one in his pajama shirt pocket. He debated a shave, as if his facial hair had ever been particularly thick, but resolved to be the best he could be that evening. Not full suit and tie, no, but he'd present himself the very best he could.

He wasn't certain what the night would bring, how far things would go, if he was ready to be that honest. “At least,” he said to himself, as he rose, “If it's chilly enough tonight, I'll have an excuse to keep my shirt on around everyone in grass skirts.”

* * *

Gojyo texted him an address while Hakkai was eating his lunch, the time of the party a second later, and then a _“Can't wait to see you!”_ Hakkai checked the address on his GPS and found it nearer the marine laboratory than his own rented house, near the beach; he'd be able to walk there and home, and easily to the waterside if they chose to celebrate on the sand. _Makai_ , Hakkai thought with a little smile, and wondered it he should brush up on his local slang before going to a gathering of locals.

The sun was going down over the ocean again as Hakkai walked over to the address he was given, and found a tidy little cottage, with clapboard shutters and whitewashed adobe walls, surrounded by dense foliage in the front, thick with broad leaves and hibiscus as big as his head. He could hear some sort of wild ruckus from behind the house, and he was certain he could feel the ground faintly trembling under him, or perhaps his knees about to give out, though he didn't think he was that nervous. He tried the doorbell, but though he heard a sound distantly within the darkened hall, there was no answer. There was a particularly hard shake on the ground just then, and Hakkai heard a creak and noticed that a gate just left of the house, half-hidden by the dense tropical fauna, was unlocked, and there were lights within leading down a packed-earth path. Hakkai took the open gate as invitation.

The sounds became clearer as chanting, a few dozen men shouting in unison, and the ground really was shaking. As Hakkai found the end of the path, he landed in a yard lit by torches and a bonfire, and at least twenty men, some in grass skirts (like Gojyo had promised) but some just dressed in beach shorts and tees, shouting, dancing in unison. They stomped their feet and waved their arms in rhythmic sync, making their own beat as they danced to it. Hakkai spotted Jien and the man who Hakkai assumed to be Gojyo's sponsor among the dancers. Jien seemed to be shouting something which was then answered by every other man dancing, as they stomped and slapped their arms and fists against their legs, all smiles and glee, and then, a howl split the rhythm as Gojyo jumped in from a spot nearest the house, shouting in Hawaiian, dancing along as if he'd been with it the entire time. Hakkai had heard of dancing _haka_ but he'd never seen it, and now, he had no way of describing it to anyone else. The feel of the rhythm as their feet shook the ground! The unbridled joy! How can one communicate this wordless sensation? Hakkai dearly wished he spoke even a word of their language so that he might have some idea of what they were saying between laughter and syncopated cries, but all he knew was that this display of positive energy was simply breathtaking.

Jien's voice cut through the air as he strode over to Gojyo through the crowd, red-faced from shouting and still half-laughing, saying, “You're not supposed to dance _haka_ in your own honor!”

“I can't help it!” Gojyo laughed back, as Jien reached him and slapped his back hard. “It's fun, ya know? I feel it in my soul, and my body has to follow!” As he and Jien laughed and hugged, Gojyo turned and spotted Hakkai over Jien's shoulder, and Hakkai lifted his hand in a little wave. Gojyo ripped himself away from Jien and jogged over to Hakkai. “Hey, you! You made it!” He threw his arms around Hakkai, clearly still a little drunk on enthusiasm, and he squeezed Hakkai tight. Gojyo was damp with sweat, but he smelled like the ocean and his embrace was so genuine, so heartfelt, that Hakkai couldn't care that his shirt was getting wet.

“It's good to see you, too.” He stepped back a little as Gojyo, grinning like a kid, took him in, toe to tip from his sandals to his shorts and a linen, long-sleeved shirt over a casual tee. “And just as good to look at, picture of class wherever you go, aren't you?”

Hakkai stifled a demure chuckle, as Jien swaggered over. “I figured you were the new friend Gojyo wanted to invite, he's hardly shut up about you.” Jien swiped the sweat from his hair, still grinning. “I'm glad you made it, he's been dying to –”

“Dude, shut up.” Gojyo punched Jien's forearm. “You really gotta embarrass me in front of everyone cute I talk to?”

Jien just laughed low and knowingly. “Oh, brudda, like I've ever tried.” He winked at Hakkai. “He neva be like dat with nobody before.” He leaned conspiratorially close to Hakkai, letting his pidgin come in thick. “Naw, wid him, he just wen date one time, then go for the next girl and the next and the-”

“Hey!” Gojyo punched Jien again, and Jien stuck his tongue out at him and dropped about half of his accent.

“Let me have my fun! You can speak Japanese at this guy and I won't understand, I'm gonna talk Hawaiian to him and make you get all choked up and flustered!” With that, Jien shoved Gojyo a step towards Hakkai. “You go show him around, let him meet everyone. Get the man some chicken, he's too skinny!” Jien reached out and roped someone in by the arm, the tanned man with red hair in a sloppy bun much like the way Gojyo wore his during his competition, the sponsor. “Here, here's an important guy! Kougaiji, lookit, baby bro's brought a boytoy!”

“Oh?” Kougaiji was significantly more even than Jien in tone and demeanor, but he still had a warm smile for Hakkai, and he bowed at the waist. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. –”

“Hakkai is fine.” Hakkai was still trying to brush off being called a boytoy. “It's my pleasure, Mr. Kougaiji. I believe I saw you in Malaysia when I was watching the livestream.”

“You might've, yeah.” Kougaiji grinned wryly. “I'm Gojyo's sponsor, so I go to as many of his meets as I can. I'm the current CEO of Bull's Head Wake Surf Supply, and having Gojyo use our gear is an honor to an old family business.”

Jien snorted and muttered something about “old family drama,” and Gojyo stepped a little closer. “He's great! Doesn't make me say stupid slogans, and he gives me all the good shit to keep my board in shape! Hey, you want I should get you a good price on some swim trunks?” Gojyo elbowed Kougaiji in the ribs a little. “What you think, maybe I bring you a new model for the spring catalogue, eh?”

Kougaiji laughed awkwardly, then edged a little away from Gojyo. “I'd be happy to show your friend around HQ sometime, though we're not really looking for models.”

“I'm, er, shy about pictures anyway.” Hakkai waved the idea off with both hands, smiling sheepishly. Kougaiji's eyes crinkled a little, and he caught Jien's eye and said something in an accent so thick Hakkai couldn't understand. Something sparked in Gojyo's eyes, and he punched at Jien's shoulder.

“Hey, lay off that talk! Seriously, I win you guys gold and you just talk smack!”

Jien just mussed Gojyo's hair. “It's 'cause you're my baby brother.”

“And mine by extension,” Kougaiji added, sounding equal parts magnanimous and mischievous. Then, he ruffled Gojyo's hair and turned for the house. “Excuse me, let me see if Yaone needs any help.”

“Oh, shit, yeah, Yaone!” Jien jumped back. “Lemme see if she needs me to help her tap another barrel. Be right back, bro!” Jien and Kougaiji both headed for the house, and Gojyo took the chance to lace his fingers with Hakkai's and step right into his view.

“Sorry about them.” He squeezed Hakkai's hand. “They're both great, they just like to give me shit.” He circled around, still holding Hakkai's hand. “Hey, how about we get some _grindz_? We got chicken and roast pig, and I saw this huge bowl of macaroni salad and I just know you're gonna love it!”

With that, Gojyo whisked Hakkai off to a buffet table and told him what everything was, and encouraged him to take little samples of everything – “See what you like, and if you like it, get more!” – and Hakkai obliged. As Hakkai browsed through platters of macaroni salad, _poi_ (which Gojyo said was taro root porridge), _laulau (_ taro leaves stirred up with roasted pork), grilled fruit, coconut rice, and all sorts of exotic but delicious smelling dishes that Hakkai couldn’t even start to name, Gojyo made chatter with everyone around them, introducing him as his friend, and introducing Hakkai right back. Lots of Kougaiji's employees, people on his support team, his trainers, and then some younger people and little children who Gojyo introduced by name, explaining to Hakkai, “My students all came with their parents, I teach swimming lessons in the off-season!” Everyone greeted Hakkai with smiles, shaking his hand or throwing a friendly arm around him and joking about how “Gojyo picked a nice one this time,” and treating him like he'd been there forever. Like he really belonged here.

The real prizes were at the end of the buffet table, with a whole roasted pig laid out, with crispy skin and tender meat falling off the bone. Gojyo keened with glee as he got to it. “Look at that, they left me the cheeks!” He went for the pig's head with his fork, but tore a piece of the cheek off for Hakkai. “I know you're probably not used to eating face, but trust me, this is the best part!” Then he motioned to the other platter, whole chickens that smelled of coconut and spice. “Actually, that's the real deal. That's lu’au, it's what the party's named after! Chicken wrapped in taro leaves baked in coconut milk, and Kougaiji makes the best I've ever had.” He took a fork. “What's your favorite cut? You like the thigh? I know it's a lot, but you gotta try a little!”

With overloaded plates, Gojyo led Hakkai to sit on a stone retaining wall in a quiet spot behind the bonfire, clearly hoping to escape some of the attention. “I'm really glad you're here, you know? I know it's a lot, all these folks, but it's nice.” He tore off a chunk of his lu’au chicken, gesturing with his fork. "It ... it means a lot, yeah? I got all these people here who wanna see me 'cause they know who I am and what I do, and they’re all proud of me and I’m glad they’re here, but the one I really wanted to see was you."

Hakkai's face felt hot, and he hoped it was merely the fire. "Really? All these people and you were only concerned for me?"

Gojyo quickly laughed and gulped down his bite of chicken. "Well, like, I'm really happy everyone came out and all! But, yeah." He slid his hand from balancing his plate to touch Hakkai's knee. "I wanted to see you. There's just something about you, it makes me wanna be around you. I kinda feel like you get me, and it's nice to have someone around who gets you." He closed his fist. "You know what I mean?"

Hakkai tried to parse between Japanese and English, but nodded after consideration. "I suppose you mean in the sense of one who understands you. I'm not certain I do, yet, but I think I would very much like to."

Gojyo's eyes glittered in the dark, blood-red in the firelight, and his mouth spread in a smug little smirk that just made Hakkai want to kiss him. "Yeah? It's a start." Then, he motioned to the plate. "Eat up, yeah? This is your first lu’au, I wanna know what you think of it all!"

"Ah, well, it's not my first, really. The marine center took us to a lu’au party in honor of our arrival, but I'm afraid it was one of those tourist-trap types." Hakkai smiled sheepishly, but took up his fork nonetheless. "I think I prefer the atmosphere of this one. It's more cozy, like family, and I'm certain the food will be better." He tried the pig cheek first, and bit down to let the skin crunch on his teeth and the fat melt in his mouth around the tender meat. Hakkai chewed and swallowed slowly, savoring the bite. "Oh, my, yes. I didn't try the cheek there, and you're absolutely right."

Gojyo just smirked a little wider. "Tol'ja."

"In fact," Hakkai went on, "I think the last place I had pork cheek was in China, when we were studying a fish that had begun traveling between sea and fresh water up a river off of the Hokkaido currents."

Gojyo's eyes went wide with wonder. "No way! I haven't been to China in forever! Where'd you go in China?"

Sanzo had suggested he share travel stories, Hakkai thought ruefully as he began to talk about his Chinese research trip. He would just ease into the more important ones.

They chattered while they ate, trading stories of all the places they'd been. Gojyo talked about his surf competitions, reliving the Java win as a pretty young woman brought around rum drinks and stopped only briefly to smile approvingly at Hakkai, but though Gojyo thanked her for the drink, he didn't break his chain of conversation with Hakkai, recounting his trip to Fiji the previous year. Hakkai, in return, told him about his last study in Svalbard – “I'm afraid I usually only visit cold islands!” – but Gojyo was rapt as he told his best story, his encounter with a polar bear while pulling thermometers from the ice. They traded back and forth until their plates were empty, and put them aside only to creep a little closer to one another where they were seated on the wall.

“It all sounds so amazing.” Gojyo had a sense of wonder in his voice, eyes still gleaming in the firelight, his smile just as warm. “You know, all the traveling I do, I don't vacation much. I never go cold places. I think I'd like it, y'know? It'd be something different.” His hand was caressing Hakkai's, callused fingers abrading his hand, his warmth grounding. “You think maybe next time you go, you'll take me? Or I can come see you? It's not like when you're on assignment, you're always working.” His thumb ran over Hakkai's knuckles, and Hakkai's eyes crinkled up with pleasure.

“You'd have to pay your own way, I'm afraid, but I'd be happy to host you.”

“I think I'd really like that.”

“I'm still in Hawaii for at least another six months, though,” Hakkai added quickly, and closed his fingers around Gojyo's. “I don't know if I'll get a vacation until then, but truly, I have a miniature vacation every evening and weekend.”

“Yeah, I feel ya.” Gojyo nodded hard. “I love it here, I don't wanna live nowhere else.” He glanced around at the people nearby, the little groups standing around the tables of food or sitting near the fire and talking, all happy, all warm. “Hawaii's treated me pretty good. The ocean's my place, but here –”

A brash voice slid over Gojyo's, and from the shift in his expression, pierced him like a needle: “Listen to that _hapa_ boy talk.” Hakkai felt cold spike through him at the look of a wounded, terrified child plain in Gojyo's face, and looked past him to the source of those words, a middle-aged Hawaiian woman with straggly curls, liquor in her tones, and a nasty set to her jaw, and though she was behind Gojyo, Hakkai could see her glaring right at him, through him. He had no idea what _hapa_ meant, but that woman said it like one might describe a particularly slimy cockroach through her inebriated slur and thick accent. Hakkai had never seen Gojyo in distress before and _he did not like it_. Nobody had the right to kill his smile, and yet whoever that woman was, she had the nerve to go on: “Wannabe. He ought'a go back to his own shitshow island! It ought'a be against the law for that thing to even touch our beaches. I should'a let him drown when his shit mama first shipped him over here.” The young woman she was talking to had the good grace to look upset, as Gojyo sealed his lips tight and hung his head. Hakkai's hands were shaking, and he gripped Gojyo's tight, both to still himself and to try and bring Gojyo back to himself.

“I think I saw some lovely cake, Gojyo, why don't we get some dessert and you can tell me what everything is?” Hakkai could feel Gojyo's hand shaking too, and he mouthed something indistinct and shook his head a little. Someone else was speaking, a younger man:

“Hey, ain't nobody here got nothing against _hapa_ but you, lady. If you ain't got nothin' nice to say about the guest of honor, then – ”

The woman laughed, loud and brash. “Guest of honor! Ha! Like anyone honors that bastard! He's just another _haole_ like that trash he's trying to fuck.” There were a few surprised noises, and Hakkai felt the tension creeping up his spine. That woman could say what she wanted about him, but he knew _haole_ . He'd been warned to get away from anyone shouting _haole_ at him. There were more people starting to surround the woman, the men Gojyo had introduced as his friends, his team, and yet she _still_ dared go on. “Why you all care so much about that dumb slut boy? He only here 'cause my moron husband wanted to fuck _haole_ jailbait. Back in my mama's day, it neva be like that, they wouldn't'a let him live!”

“Gojyo.” Hakkai tugged on his hand a little harder. More people were surrounding the woman now and Hakkai could sense impending violence, but Gojyo was completely locked up. “I'd like to go somewhere else now. Why don't we just walk down to the ocean and –”

“HEY!” Jien was shouting, and Gojyo flinched. He rushed right past Gojyo, clapping Gojyo hard on the shoulder, and Hakkai heard him mutter, “I swear to God, I could kill her,” before he hurried over to the woman and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Ma, what are you doing here? I didn't invite you!”

“Jien, baby!” Her tone changed from slurred slime to sloppy saccharine in an instant, and she draped herself all over Jien. “My baby boy, beautiful baby ...” She rubbed her cheek to his chest, babbling in Hawaiian babytalk, and even in the poor light, Hakkai could see his expression curdle with disgust.

“Ma, you need to go.” He tried to pull her, but she was rooted to the spot and clinging to Jien, chin tilted up, as if she were trying to kiss him. He kept his face far back and glowered as she kept groping at him, then gave her shoulders a throttle. “Ma, I said!”

“No, baby, why you invite that piece of shit but not your mama to your own party ...” She nuzzled Jien's collarbone, and he flinched and tried to push her back. “You know that little shit's the reason your daddy's dead anyway ...” Jien started to forcibly move her, dragging her towards the gate, just as Kougaiji landed at Gojyo's side.

“Nobody invited her, I had no idea, and if I'd caught her coming in, I would have removed her.” He was breathless, wide-eyed and angry, but he was trying to be gentle for Gojyo. “She must have heard about it and wandered over to grift a meal and drinks, but –”

“It's fine,” Gojyo muttered, still shaking his head, and Hakkai finally felt him grip his hand back. “She's ... she's his mom, of course she'd wanna –”

“She's not welcome.” Kougaiji quickly glanced over at Jien, who was still trying to drag that awful woman out, then shifted his weight to block Jien's mother from Gojyo's view. “Ask anyone else here, more people living on the island now are _hapa_ anyway, and nobody thinks that way about you. Nobody thinks ill of you because of it.”

“Nobody who matters,” Hakkai added, and Gojyo looked at him. For a second, Hakkai could swear he saw tears in Gojyo's eyes, but he swallowed hard and smeared his hand over his face, wiping it away and putting on a shadow of his smile.

“Yeah. Thanks.” He took a deep breath. Behind him, the ruckus started to escalate again as Jien's mother moaned and started to complain, and the rumblings of a fight about to go down started to rise. Gojyo jumped off the wall and turned around, clapping his hands and forcing his usual big grin. “Hey, everyone!” All eyes turned to him. “I hate to do this, but I had a super early morning and I'm way tired. You all keep the party going, but I'm out! _Aloha!”_ With that, he grabbed Hakkai's hand again and muttered, “I need to be anywhere but here.”

Hakkai pushed himself off the wall. “I know just the place.”

He led the way, knowing the path well enough by now, and walked Gojyo to the ocean, to the spot where they'd met. The full moon shone down over a low tide, as bright as daylight in Hokkaido, and Hakkai walked Gojyo right to the water's edge. “After all,” Hakkai told him, patting his hand as the waves lapped against their toes, “you said you don't feel at home anywhere but the water.”

“Yeah?” Gojyo gazed out over the horizon for a moment, then turned back towards Hakkai. “You listen to me. I like that.” He kept Hakkai's hand tight in his, breathing with the rhythm of the easy waves, and Hakkai felt the tension seep out of him. After a few minutes, he shook his head a little, hair swaying. “I'm, uh, sorry you had to see that.” He tried a sheepish grin on for size. “Pathetic, huh?”

Hakkai stared impassively back at him, then shook his head hard. “I don't think so.”

“Huh.” Gojyo looked down again, and Hakkai squeezed his hand again.

“I think it's terrible that she, that horrible woman, was ever allowed to speak about you or to you in that way.” Hakkai shook his head harder at the thought. “She talks as if she knows you, but I feel as if I've known you for only a little while and I feel I know you, the man standing beside me, better than she ever will.”

“Yeah?” Gojyo sounded slightly reassured at that, and he finally dared make eye contact with Hakkai again. “Uh, I, uh, guess I should explain ...”

“You don't have to do anything you don't want to.” Hakkai kept Gojyo's hand in his, even as Gojyo turned to face him.

“No, I wanna.” He bowed his head for a moment, thinking. “She's ... she's Jien's Ma, but not mine. My Ma was a Japanese tourist girl on her high school senior trip who got picked up by my dad. When she told Dad about me, apparently he was excited, but his wife, not so much.” Gojyo fidgeted. “Uh, but my Ma wasn't gonna move, and Dad didn't wanna leave Hawaii or his wife, so they made an arrangement for me to go visit him every winter and summer and we'd have phone calls at least twice a week. I loved coming here, except he stayed married and his wife, she ...” Gojyo cringed. “She _hated_ me. I wanted her to like me, but no matter how hard I tried, she ...”

“She only saw the product of her husband's infidelity, not a sweet boy.”

Gojyo nodded. “And ... home in Japan, you get it there too. I look American, I look Hawaiian, y'know?” He went on in Japanese: “ _The nail that sticks up gets hammered down_.”

Hakkai replied in Japanese without thinking, _“I know that too well.”_ He quickly corrected back to English: “But she made it personal, didn't she? She said something about your father ...”

Gojyo swallowed dryly and turned his face away. “Uh ...” He turned his toes in a little, and the big broad surfer suddenly looked too much like a child. Hakkai wished he could pick him up and reassure him until he felt big again. “Dad ... he had to pay child support, so he took a second job. He wanted to help my Ma take care of me, y'know? But he got sick and died when I was ten, and Jien's Ma said it was 'cause he overworked himself. I still came to visit 'cause I loved Jien, but ... that was when she started beating on me.” Gojyo ran his hand up to his face and choked out a laugh. “I lied to ya, y'know?” Gojyo hesitated, but Hakkai was silent. He knew Gojyo wanted to tell him, and he would wait for Gojyo to be ready to talk. “She pushed me off the dock. I hit my head and scratched my face on the way down. I would'a drowned if Jien hadn't rescued me.” He shivered, drawing his arms around himself, but Hakkai grabbed his arm.

“Gojyo, listen to me. Whatever she's said, none of it matters. None of it's true. There is absolutely nothing wrong with who or what you are." Hakkai took both of his hands in his and bowed his head to Gojyo's shoulder. "There are people who love you. I hardly even know you and I'm finding it increasingly impossible to dislike you even in the slightest."

Gojyo seemed a little surprised, but he slid a hand up Hakkai's back and leaned into the embrace. "Yeah? You ain't seen my bad habits yet." He managed an embarrassed little chuckle against the side of Hakkai's head, a whuff of warm air against his face. "I cuss too much, I smoke like a chimney in the off-season, and I suck about keeping my place clean. Seriously, I don't think I've taken the recycling out in like a month."

"I'd like to get to know those bad habits better, then. It'll give me some silly excuse not to fall head over heels for you."

Gojyo was quiet, then held Hakkai incrementally tighter. "You think?"

"I do." Hakkai turned his cheek onto Gojyo's shoulder, pleasantly surprised to find that despite them being nearly the same height, the crook of his neck was the perfect spot for his head. "You seem easy to love. I wonder if perhaps you're the only person who knows you, as you are, and doubts it."

"I guess you're right." He rubbed Hakkai's back a few times. "I mean, Jien's always loved me. My Ma and Dad loved me, even though I caused trouble. And ... I got friends now ..." Hakkai felt his thumb slip under the back of his shirt. "And there's you. I like you a lot too."

Gojyo shifted, and he was suddenly kissing him. Hakkai felt his entire body ripple with sensation as Gojyo drew him into his embrace. Had anyone ever touched Hakkai this much? Had he ever wanted someone to touch him so much? Despite every warning, Hakkai couldn't stop himself from kissing him back. Gojyo's kiss was warm and perfect, his mouth just hard enough to challenge Hakkai but soft and inviting, his tongue just teased at the ridge of his teeth. Hakkai was unpracticed, trying to match Gojyo's pace but finding it so hard to resist leaning in deep and claiming Gojyo's mouth, sucking on that tongue, nibbling that lower lip. He had never kissed anyone before. He'd never wanted to, and certainly never this much. He was dizzy when he broke away, only to feel Gojyo grounding him with caresses to his cheeks and jawline, and then those hands were trailing down his neck to his collar.

“Hey,” he murmured, rough and sensual, into Hakkai's neck, and his hands slid down to the bottom of Hakkai's shirt. “I kinda wanna go somewhere else. You mind if I take you home?”

Gojyo's fingers touched his waist, and a chill shot down Hakkai's spine like a bolt of cold lightning, and he threw himself back from Gojyo as if he'd been pushed. Hakkai's heart raced, skin clammy, and his mind caught up with what had happened – Gojyo had been about to reveal him, and he'd thrown all his walls up and walled Gojyo out. Gojyo had gone wide-eyed again, and Hakkai winced when he realized he'd caused that pain. “Gojyo, I – I need to tell you something.”

“Nah, man, if you're not into me like that, it's cool, _ainoke –”_

“Gojyo.” Hakkai put a little steel into his voice, both to counter the heavy stone of his heart and his own clay feet. “This ... it's not you. My ... my body ...” He clenched his fist, then put one over his chest. “It's ...” He swallowed hard, then hung his head. “I've lied to you, too. You deserve the truth about my body.”

This shook the hurt from Gojyo's expression, his brow furrowed as Hakkai reached for the cuff on his left sleeve. He hesitated a second longer, then forced himself to move. It was time to be honest.

It was his body, after all; there was nothing he could do to change it, and he was on the beach.

Hakkai opened the left cuff button and quickly popped the right, then peeled his sleeves off, revealing the web of scars running up and down his forearms. Gojyo inhaled sharply, but Hakkai couldn't stop now, and grabbed his undershirt and yanked it off, knocking his glasses loose. It was just as well. He squeezed his eyes shut as he dropped his shirt. He didn't want to see what Gojyo thought of him, of the crooked gash sewn shut across his thin belly, of the spider-web thin lines all over the underside of his arms that were so thick in places that it looked like some evil tree had taken root in his heart and spread its root network down his shoulders. Worst of all were the two thin red lines at the top of his ribcage, and now he was laid bare in the moonlight. Gojyo was quiet as he took him in, and Hakkai waited for retribution for his existence.

What he didn't expect was an awe-filled, _“Aue.”_ He didn't expect Gojyo's fingers to trace the curve of his neck down his thin shoulders and arms – as if his testosterone patch wasn't there – then the scars on his arms, then the ridge over his stomach. “You're beautiful, but who hurt you?” Hakkai opened his eyes again, and even through his blurry vision, Gojyo wasn't angry, or if he was, not at him. “They back in Japan? I got dual citizenship, I can get a plane ticket. Or was it someone around here? 'Cause if they live anywhere in –”

“No, no. He's … he's in prison already.” Hakkai shook his head, then put his hand over his eyes. In a blink, Gojyo was pushing his glasses into his palm, and he put them back on, willing to see again. “I – I can explain. It was someone who was in love with me before. When I was in college.” He hung his head. “I didn't love him back, not at all. I was too busy hating myself, but even if I had cared for him ...” Hakkai shivered, unable to even bear the thought. “When I ... when I decided to change, when I tried to rebuff his advances by telling him I wasn't a woman ... he became enraged. He stalked me home one night, cornered me with a knife, and said he'd help me along.” Hakkai smiled wryly, and tried to crush the pain under his palm. He could still envision the blood on the knife, crimson. Beautiful. Terrible. “He nearly killed me, but I suppose he saved me a hysterectomy. Everything was already ruined. I suppose that was his aim.”

Gojyo went very quiet at that, and his fingers spread a little, then crept up to the scars under his pectoral muscles. “Surgery, right?”

Hakkai nodded, goosebumps raising on his shoulders. “Thailand. It's cheaper there, when one does the math.” He laughed weakly. “I ... I was going to tell you. I've been to Thailand, but I spent my entire time there in a hospital, having consultations and surgery, then recovering. Those are the most noticeable scars.” He bit his lip. “It … it was merely a relief to have it all done, after the horror of my emergency surgery.”

“A relief, huh?” Now Gojyo was touching the pale scars on his arms again. “These ...”

“I spent my entire youth in pain.” Hakkai touched one of them, near Gojyo's fingers. The raised scar felt like it was alive and moving under his skin like a creeping vine, and his stomach nearly turned. He flinched and put his hands at his sides. “I … if I made the pain real, instead of just in my head, in my soul, then I could alleviate it, if only for a moment. I can bandage a cut. I couldn't ...” He struggled with the words, before spitting them out: “I couldn't be something I wasn't, and I couldn't heal the pain of having to live with that. I was born a woman, and I hated myself for it.”

“The body you were in didn't fit you, right?” Gojyo slid his hand down Hakkai's arm to take hold of his hand and to stop him from digging his fingernails into his palms.

“I ... I'm not. I couldn't be.” Gojyo was squeezing his hand now, and he squeezed right back. “I know I'll never be a man, and there's a small part of me that doesn't want to be, but 'man' is the closest I'll ever be to being comfortable with what I am.”

“'Cause you're _mahu._ ” Gojyo touched his face, and Hakkai looked up into his eyes. Unfathomably, Gojyo smiled. “You got both of the spirits in you. We call it _mahu._ ”

Hakkai had never heard that word before, but hearing it felt like the first time someone had told him it was possible to be transgender. There was a name for his feelings in Gojyo's tongue, too. He could release them to him. Perhaps it was even better that it was Gojyo giving it to him. His acceptance was a gift, one Hakkai had never thought he might be worthy of.

“It doesn't bother you, does it? That I'm … that I'm …” Hakkai motioned to his chest, though Gojyo was already mouthing “no, no.” “I'm not male. I'm missing parts, and they're pieces I'm not even certain I need. It's not enough that anyone else can tell; the only member of my team that knows is my direct superior, and that's only because he knew me before my surgery.” He traced his scars, looking down at them. “I did exactly what was required to change my gender marker and the family registry. I fear my parents were more annoyed at the hassle of changing my designation from 'eldest daughter' to 'eldest son.' They hated having to explain it. Apparently the joke became that I had a secret sister, and the rest of my family kept talking about 'her' with my birth name. They said I killed her and took her place.” He laughed once, but it felt a little like a sob. “I could never laugh.”

“It ain't funny.” Gojyo opened his arms. “C'mere.” Hakkai too willingly stepped into Gojyo's embrace, and Gojyo slowly rubbed his back. “Ain't nobody better than me that knows what it's like to hate the skin you're living in.” Hakkai wanted to protest, how could Gojyo hate being born who he was, but he couldn't. Gojyo clearly found him just as attractive despite the truth of who and what he was, just like he saw nothing wrong with Gojyo being what he was. Gojyo kissed his cheek a few times. “Bein' loved helped me get by, but I don't think anybody's loved you up.”

Hakkai hummed, feeling somehow exhausted but even more like he wanted Gojyo to hold him. “Perhaps we both need to learn to love ourselves for who we are. What we are. After all, if you can accept … this.” He looked down at himself again, but Gojyo tipped his chin right back up.

“Making me repeat myself, huh?” He smirked a little and touched his nose to Hakkai's. “I don't care about that body. I love it just the way it is, but you're more than those scars.” He rubbed Hakkai's back. “Maybe we ought'a both work on loving what we are, yeah? 'Til you learn to do it, though, I'll do it for ya.”

Hakkai closed his eyes and leaned close against Gojyo. “Being in-between isn't as painful as knowing that there are many who won’t accept you.”

“Yeah.” Gojyo kissed him between the eyes. “Makes it hard for you to accept yourself. How long you in Hawaii, babe? I need to know how long I got to make you love yourself 'til I gotta start givin' long-distance lessons. You said six months, right?”

“At least six months,” Hakkai murmured, as Gojyo threaded his fingers into his hair and cradled his head. “I'll have a few off-shore trips to take me away from here, but I’ll come back, and then we’ll have all that time until the end of my study, if we are compatible, after all ...”

“Ain't worried about that part, but we got plenty of time to make sure.” Gojyo wrapped his arms tight around his neck and back, and Hakkai felt safe and shielded. “Come on, babe. I'm gonna take you home, and I want you to tell me everything.”

Hakkai nodded into Gojyo's shoulder. After so long hiding and holding back, he wanted to reveal what he was to someone who understood him in every way, who saw more than his body. 

* * *

It was another evening, the sun starting to sink over the edge of the horizon, and Hakkai had his iced tea in his cooler and his beach blanket over his arm. He stopped at the edge of the boardwalk and surveyed the beach. There weren't too many people still on the sand, a few still out in the water, but it wasn't a big vacation week, so it was quiet. Exactly how Hakkai had wanted it to be. He took a deep breath, pulled his overshirt off, stripping down to his tank top, then ventured onto the sand.

Nobody looked at him twice as he spread his blanket on the dunes, set his cooler down, and spread out, pillowing his head on his arms behind his head. The air was warm but comfortable, and it really did feel better to have a little air on him. He heard a shout from the water, and sat up to see Gojyo, his hair all tucked up into a sloppy bun, waving as he burst from the blue and clambered onto his board.

“Hey! I'll be in in a minute, lemme just get one more 'fore the tide goes out!”

Hakkai waved back, chuckling to himself, and settled down again. The sound of the waves was relaxing, drowning out whatever doubt might have been ringing in his ears.

Even another voice couldn't distract him: “Hey, Hakkai!” Hakkai glanced up to see Goku, swim trunks damp and sand drying on his bare chest, with an inner tube around his arm and his beach chair looped around the other. “Sorry I missed ya!” He blinked a few times, and Hakkai saw his gaze flit to his arms and back. “Whoa, check the gun show!” To his surprise, Goku grinned wide. “Finally decided to work on your tan a little?”

“Just a little,” Hakkai demurred with a little smile, shifting his arms to turn the scars towards his body. “I'm the type that burns easily, but it's rather warm today.”

“Lotion up, you're the smart one!” Goku laughed. “I think I have some sunscreen with Vitamin E at home, it's good for your skin!”

“Ah, that sounds like a good idea.” Hakkai also knew that Vitamin E helped with scars, too. He had a feeling Goku was aware, but didn't want to draw attention to it. In a way, it was the kindest thing Goku could do: acknowledge that it was there, but without judgment or scrutiny. Hakkai had hoped Goku would be the understanding type, and was pleased to be found right. It had taken a deep well of bravery to expose himself at all. Goku just beamed a little brighter.

“I'll bring it in for you tomorrow, but for now, I gotta go.” He pointedly looked up and out towards the ocean, and Hakkai glanced over his shoulder to see Gojyo strolling up the shore. “No way I'm gonna get between you and your hot date.”

“Don't sell yourself short.” Hakkai chuckled and shook his head. “Gojyo has said that he wants me to come to his next meet on Maui in a few weeks, and he's made it very clear I can bring another guest. I think he'd love to have you there with us to cheer him on.”

“You think?” Goku rubbed the back of his head, pleased but embarrassed. “I'll definitely make it, just say when! But I still gotta get back so I can call Sanzo. You have fun too!”

“He will, don't you worry.” That was Gojyo, laughing as he halted on the sand near Hakkai. “You have a good night, kid.”

“Yeah, see ya! _Aloha_ , guys!” With that, Goku ran off, grinning like he knew some deep secret. He had no idea, Hakkai thought with a little bit of regret, but he knew it was only a matter of time until he got brave enough to admit the rest of the truth to Goku. That would be a good feeling. For now, there was a deep, fulfilling satisfaction in the shadow of Gojyo's form on his back as he sat down at his side. He slid his fingers into Hakkai's and locked them there, then leaned over and kissed Hakkai on the cheek. Hakkai turned his head to catch him with a kiss on the mouth, and Gojyo laughed.

“Hey, now, I'm supposed to be the cheeky one.”

“You'll find I'm full of surprises.”

Gojyo chuckled, sliding his hand around Hakkai's waist and thumbing at the bottom of his shirt Hakkai didn't flinch this time, knowing that Gojyo knew very well what was under there and that he wouldn't mind another look.

“Did you see me out there today?” Gojyo lolled on him, heavy with exhaustion, warm from the sun, and still a little damp from the sea. Hakkai shook his head.

“I'm afraid I was a moment shy. Perhaps tomorrow, I'll be able to escape a little earlier.” He leaned into Gojyo's chest. “Or, perhaps on the weekend, I can just come and stay here all day and watch you.”

Gojyo laughed, grinning, crooked and mischievous. “I got plenty of other plans for what we're gonna do this weekend, beautiful.” He teased at Hakkai's hip. “If you really wanna put that beautiful body on my beach and just watch me, then you can, but I wanna give you some private swimming lessons.”

“Really? My, how lucky I am to have such an esteemed teacher.” Hakkai let his hand rest on Gojyo's knee where it sat next to his.

“You teasin' me? What, you think I'm just looking for an excuse to get a little hands-on with you in that big blue?” Gojyo jostled Hakkai's shoulder a little, and Hakkai gave him a little wink.

“I'm afraid I am, and you won't convince me otherwise.”

Gojyo smirked. “I ain't gonna disagree with you when you're right.” He chuckled and kissed his cheek. “But hey, Kougaiji wanted me to bring you down by his flagship shop, says he wants to make up for the lu’au with a private tour. I'm low on wax anyway, but I'm thinking we get you a nice new swim top, then we go for poke and _malasadas_.”

“Ah, roger that. That all sounds delightful.” Hakkai leaned against Gojyo's chest, but nudged his cooler open with his foot. “Do we have long enough for a _pau hana_ lager before we go? I stopped by Yaone's shop on my lunch break, she told me your favorite brew, so I've brought you a six-pack.”

Gojyo's hand tightened around his waist and gave him an appreciative caress. “For me? Damn, babe.” He grabbed the first bottle and popped the top with his thumb. “We can make time. We're on island time and all.”

“So we are.” Hakkai relaxed even more as Gojyo rubbed his back and hip, completely at ease with himself, his place in the world, and the skin he was in.

Hakkai had never thought he'd love Hawaii as much as he did, nor that he could love everything in it so very deeply. He hadn't planned on finding someone he'd truly enjoy the sunshine with, but he was finding more and more things to love about the life he led all the time.  


* * *

_Hawaiian Pidgin Vocabulary_

 

_Malasadas_ \- Cream-filled doughnuts, a well-loved Hawaiian dessert. 

_Aue_ – an emotional reaction, generally surprise, sorrow, or affection. Think "oh wow" or "oh my."

_Da kine_ – “The thing,” a place holder for when you can't find the word you're looking for.

_Pau hana –_ “after work,” often used to denote getting after-work drinks.

“ _Shoots_ ” and “ _Rahja dat_ ” – common in Hawaiian parlance for an emphatic “sure!” or “okay!” For the latter, think “Roger that,” likely picked up and pulled into the pidgin due to the significant presence of American GIs on the island.

_Mahalo_ – “Thank you”

_Ainokea_ – Say it out loud phonetically and slowly: “I no care.” “I don't care.”

_Da grindz_ – Food. Especially good food.

_Broke da mout_ – A compliment towards especially good food, i.e., "That was so good it _broke da mout_!"

_Shaka_ – a hand symbol used commonly on Hawaii, as thanks or as a greeting or farewell.

_Makai_ – The ocean side of the island, in contrast to “mauka,” the mountain side.

_Haka –_ a traditional Maori war dance, now used for celebrations of all sorts, such as weddings, funerals, retirement parties, or sporting events.

_Hapa_ – A term for someone who is of mixed heritage, especially of Asian or Pacific Islander background. It is not a derogatory term.

_Haole_ – A derogatory term for a foreigner, especially a white person.

_Mahu_ – Hawaiian term for someone who is neither male or female, or the third form of self, with the male and female spirit; could indicate transgender or a non-binary person.


End file.
